Jump
by Starlight Warrior 1092
Summary: Mikey's sick and tired of not being good enough, of not living up to his brothers' standerds. He's sick of everything, and decides to make a change, and take all the pain away... Happy 12/12/12!


**Hey, I just wanted to get this oneshot posted for two reasons. 1. I wrote it a few weeks ago and have been meaning to post it. 2. I want something with the published date to be 12/12/12. Sad, I know, but it only happens once every hundred years. And I won't be around for the next one!**

**Sorry if this is a little dark. I was feeling... sad, and was reading dark fanfiction. It's not _really_ dark, but it... well, you'll find out.**

**I don't own Ninja Turtles. Nick does, and I actually think they're doing a good job with the new show. Still miss the Leo/Raph fighting moments though... Oh well. Here's...**

**Jump**

The heavy rain beat down on his shoulders as the young turtle found himself running across the rooftops. His eyes were tightly closed, not wanting more tears to run down his face. His heart was too sore to let that happen.

_'Leave me alone! S-stay away from me, don't hurt me anymore!'_

Taking in a ragged, choking breath, the turtle stopped and stared, finding himself on at all rooftop near the river. A grim, sad smile crossed his face.

_'If only... I don't want to think... not anymore... it hurts... too much... why does it have to hurt?'_

"Why?" The choked sob broke free from him.

_They won't care,_ a voice in the back of his head told him. The orange masked turtle tried to shake the thoughts away, but he could still hear them. _They never cared about you. You're just the burden of the family, the little mess-up. They wouldn't care if you never show up again._

"It's true," The turtle whispered. His baby blue eyes looked wearily at the surging river near the building. It was so far down... so far away...

"They don't care about me," Mikey found himself crying to no one, since not a soul was around at this time of night in the middle of the pouring rain. He was amazed that he was able to hear himself _think_, let alone talk.

_See? You understand,_ the voice in the back of his mind whispered once more. _If you really cared so much to them, they would've already brought you home. No, they wouldn't have even let you go in the first place. They don't care._

"If they really cared..." Mikey whispered, climbing down the emergency ladder to get to a shorter building, "They wouldn't... they wouldn't have h-hurt me in the first place!"

His arm still burned, and the blood still flowed since he had never had time to bandage it. And the pouring rain wasn't helping a bit.

The memories of the previous encounter with his bro- no, his _enemies_, flashed back into his consciousness. The pain as his shoulder was ripped open made the young turtle shiver. Their voices rang in his ears.

Stupid!

Worthless!

Unskilled!

Leave me alone!

Don't bother me!

Get _out!_

"Get out!" Mikey screamed, bringing his hands up to his head as his eyes squeezed shut. "Leave me alone! Get out of my head!"

The tears were pouring down his face once more. The thing that he didn't want, he didn't want to be weak. But he was, he was crying, he was weak. And they knew that. That's why they didn't like him. They saw what he really was- weak, stupid, and lazy.

He was sick of them. They always wanted him to be what he wasn't. He _wasn't_ the smartest. He _wasn't_ the strongest. He _wasn't_ the most skilled. He _wasn't_ wise. He _wasn't_ what they _wanted_ him to be.

He wasn't what _he_ wanted to be.

He was sick of himself. He always failed them, never could live up to their expectations. If only he had tried harder, done better, maybe then they would've actually loved him. Maybe then he wouldn't be here, in the pouring rain, crying like the weakling he was.

But most of all, he was sick of this _life_. It was nothing more than struggling and pain, trying to be who he wasn't while still not completely destroying who he _was_. And he couldn't take it anymore.

One word ran through his mind, the only answer he could come up with: jump.

"That would show them," Mikey laughed, tears burning in his eyes. "That would show them that they can't control me! I _am_ who I _am!_ And they can't change that!"

He quickly climbed back up the ladder, a new light shining in his eyes. All of the sorrows that he was thinking of were dissolving in his mind, and a new strength fueled him.

He was on his way to being free. Free of their torment, free of their pain, of their nagging, of their disappointment. Free to be who he wanted to be. Surely they were looking for him now, trying to take him back to their made-up world where he meant nothing, and where they could do with him whatever they chose to. He would be punished, he would be scolded, and lectured, and beaten. He would be watched, monitored, to make sure he never tried this again. And they would break him.

Taking a deep breath, the orange masked turtle looked down at the rushing water of the river. It was black as the night, a faint glimmer from the streetlights shone upon it to tell him where the river ended and the land began. The waves looked ruthless, but not as ruthless as _they_ would be once he got back home.

_Not home anymore,_ Mikey thought sadly. He could hear the voice in the back of his mind egging him on, letting him know that they wouldn't care, that their lives would go on just as they had been forever. They wouldn't even notice his absence. If anything, they would be _relieved_.

With one last breath, he knew that it was now or never. He could hear their shouts, and at first he thought it was just in his mind. But then, they grew louder and louder until when he turned his head, he could see three faint shapes running towards him.

_They're not going to stop me! They _won't_ keep me locked away in that prison they call home, letting my soul rot away like some piece of trash locked in the sewer, long forgotten by any ray of light that once might've cast upon it. I'm done with them. I'm done here. I just... I just want... _

_ 'I just want to jump!'_

And right then, before they could reach him, before they could pull him from where he was going, Mikey found himself flying in the air, the cold breeze of nighttime rushing against his reptilian skin. No longer could he hear the sound of their shouts. No longer could he feel the pain. The voice that kept him sane the entire time disappeared, leaving him to be at peace.

The water, dark and shadowy, rushed up to meet him, and the first second of the splash, where he could no longer feel the breath of life in his body, the cold overtook him, and he opened his eyes to a world of light...


End file.
